Choosing Love
by Bernadette7
Summary: After Elena rejects Damon at the ball he decides it is time to start putting himself first.  How will Elena react when she isn't Damon's number one priority?
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own The Vampire Diaries or any of the characters involved.**

_**CHAPTER 1**_

Damon sat in the overstuffed chair facing the large fireplace that was the focal point of the study. As he rolled the glass tumbler of Scotch around in his hands he watched as the flames danced in every different direction. There was no rhyme or reason to the way they flickered back and forth and he almost envied those flames as they burned and blew in all directions. He once lived his own life like that; never knowing which way he was going and never caring who got burned by him in the process. He lived his life the best and easiest way he knew how which was, basically, whichever way benefited him the most. Those were the days he had turned it all off, the feelings and emotion that just got in the way, threw caution to the wind and just let it all go. He missed those days tonight more than ever. He almost wished he could be that guy again. Unfortunately, there was something holding him back. Strike that; there was someone that was holding him back. No matter how bad things got or how enraged she could make him with her stupidity and ridiculous plans or how infuriated he became when she started pledging her undying love for his brother, he couldn't leave her. He would never leave Elena.

Realistically, he could probably leave at this exact moment and she probably wouldn't even notice. She was mad at him. The close friendship, with a side bonus of flirting, they had going on was probably on thin ice at this point. He knew that Elena was mad at him for sleeping with Rebekah but that probably would have blown over after a few days. However, when you compound that with the fact that he just turned her best friend's long lost mother into a vampire, their relationship was obviously going to hit a really rocky period. But, he decided, that was okay. She had made it perfectly clear the night of the Originals' Ball that she regarded his feelings toward her as nothing more than an annoyance and a problem that he needed to get over, so that is what he was going to do. He was going to go back to being the Old Damon. The Damon that drank as much as he wanted to, the Damon that would happily take advantage of a welcoming blood source, and the Damon that would more than happily welcome a warm body in his bed.

He wouldn't leave, though. He physically felt that he couldn't. For some reason he felt for all the people that were stuck living in this town that was nothing more than a hot bed for supernatural creatures. This had once been his home and he felt the need to protect it. He felt the need to protect her. He certainly wasn't going to fall all over himself just to make her happy or survive on the possibility that maybe, just maybe, one day she would love him the way he loved her; but he would protect her. He had told her once that he would always choose her and he still meant that. The only difference now was that he was going to choose himself as well. If she wasn't in imminent danger or on the verge of dying, he was going to choose himself before putting her needs in front of his own for now on.

For example, Caroline had called his cell phone to give him, and these were her words, "the 411" on the repercussions from this evening's events. Apparently, the judgey little witch was really taking the possibility that her mother was transitioning into a vampire badly. And for some reason, Bonnie was laying part of the blame on Elena and forced Caroline to send her away when she went to try and comfort her friend. Caroline had said that Elena was really upset and felt that someone should check on her. Caroline had said that she would go herself but felt that she needed to stay with Bonnie and her transitioning mother and had asked that Damon make sure Elena was ok. He had to forcefully ignore his first instincts to run right over to her house, pop into her window, as had become normal, and try and comfort her. That is what he would have done just 48 hours earlier but he was holding firm in his resolve to put himself first when danger wasn't looming. However, he knew she was probably hurting, and a part of him did want to make sure she was ok so he shot off a quick text asking her if she was alright. Her, I'm fine response, came quickly and without further explanation so he let himself be satisfied with that. He was not going to hover. He was not going to put himself out there again for her to throw it back in his face. He was not going to let that ever happen again.

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><p>Elena sat on her bed, with a myriad of emotions trying to consume her. She felt horrible for Bonnie. She had just reconnected with her mother after so many years apart and now she was faced with watching her mother turn into a vampire or losing her again; this time forever. She had wanted to be there for Bonnie tonight just like she was there for Caroline, when her father had decided to die rather than transition into a vampire, but Bonnie had turned her away via Caroline. She understood why Bonnie had done it though. All of this, all of the death and destruction that consumed all of their lives was her fault. She was the Doppelganger. Klaus had come to Mystic Falls for her in order to break the curse. After, when he realized she was the key in creating his army of hybrids, he had returned, taking up residence in Mystic Falls and bringing his family of Original Vampires and their Original Mother with him. They were all there because of her. And because of that everyone around her was also caught up in her personal nightmare. They were all pawns being used in this sick game and she had no idea how to fix it.<p>

Flopping back on her pillows and climbing under the soft comforter on her bed Elena prayed for sleep to come. Sleep was the only place that she found peace and that was only because she didn't dream anymore. Maybe since her real life was such a nightmare her subconscious felt guilty interrupting her sleep and decided to leave her alone; or maybe she was just always so exhausted from fighting for her own life and everyone's lives around her that she just basically passed out at the end of each day.

Just as Elena felt the tension leave her body as sleep began to take over she heard the familiar chirp of her cell phone indicating that she had a text message. Hoping that it was Caroline with word on Bonnie's mom, or maybe even Bonnie herself, Elena scrambled out of bed to retrieve her phone over on her desk. She was a little deflated to see that it was not a message from her friends but from Damon. He wanted to know if she was alright. Her first instinct was to call him back and explain to him all the reasons why she wasn't alright; because she most certainly was not. She wanted to tell him that is was not alright that he had turned Bonnie's mom just to save her, and that it was not alright that he had slept with Rebekah, that none of that insanity in her life was alright; but she didn't. She did not want to fight with him for a second time that day and she definitely did not want to deal with the feelings that fluttered in the bottom of her stomach from just hearing Damon's voice. So, instead, she texted him back that she was fine and put her phone back in its place on her desk.

She had no idea what was going on with Damon and she had no idea what to do about it. She knew that Damon's actions over the last few hours had everything to do with her. She had thrown his feelings for her back in his face when he was just trying to protect her and that was wrong. She had never intended to do something so cruel to him but she felt smothered by him at the ball and she lashed out at him out of sheer annoyance. She had felt so bad about that she had gone to talk to him about it personally and walked right into the middle of his one night stand with Rebekah. She had yelled at him because he had slept with the woman/vampire that had just recently tried to kill her but deep down she knew there was more to it. She was jealous and she couldn't deal with feeling that way. There was so much going on around them that being jealous was probably the most petty way to feel but seeing Damon with another woman and knowing what they had done had practically eaten her alive.

Damon was her rock. He had been there for her all summer while Stefan was off the rails. He had been the person that had made her laugh and was there to pick up the pieces when she cried. Damon was the person that saved her and the person that she could count on to be there all the time. Because of everything going on around them and because of her feelings for Stefan that were still unresolved she refused to let him believe that there could ever be anything other than friendship between them. But part of her knew it was because she just wasn't ready to face her true feelings for Damon. She didn't know how much longer she would be able to continue on that path, though. She knew she was at the apex of a very strange love triangle and it was up to her to resolve it. She knew the logical thing was for her to choose Stefan, which she had essentially done, but he continued to push her away. The thing that confused her, though, was that each time she reached out to Stefan she prayed that he would come back to her but each time after he pushed her away the grief that she thought would overcome her was never quite that bad. Sometimes she was almost relieved when he walked away because then that meant that she would not have to look in Damon's eyes and tell him that she had picked Stefan over him. Deciding that her relationship issues were not something she wanted to deal with at the moment she turned and headed back to bed but as she fell asleep all she could think about where the two vampire brothers that loved her and how she ended up falling in love with both of them as well.

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><p><em>This is my first TVD fic so be gentle. I'm hoping the next chapter will be a little longer and have some actual DE interaction._


	2. Chapter 2

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE VAMPIRE DIARIES OR ANY OF IT'S CHARACTERS

_**Chapter 2**_

Elena woke to a strange noise, like a body being dragged across the floor, and her entire body went on alert. She had assumed that Ric had stayed with Meredith the night before because he wasn't home when she had finally gone to bed late last night. Unfortunately, since the number of vampires, originals, werewolves, and hybrids that had been invited into her home was alarmingly high, anything could be making the horrible sound that was now very close to the top of the steps.

Scurrying as quietly as possible Elena reached for the bag of weapons that Alaric had insisted she keep with her at all times. Since she wasn't sure what she was dealing with she armed herself with the self-propelling arm stake, a vervain bomb, and a wolfsbane bomb. It was definitely better to be safe than sorry.

She quickly swung open her bedroom door hoping to catch the intruder off guard so she could make her move quickly but the sight laid out in front of her stopped her in her tracks immediately. Lying at the top of the steps was an ashen Alaric, passed out and covered in what she assumed was his own blood.

"Ric, oh my god, what happened to you?" Elena cried out as she fell to her knees before him on the floor. Ric's only answer was a very weak groan and Elena knew that he was in bad shape. She could see a wound on his chest that looked like it could've been from a bullet but she wasn't sure. What she did know was that Ric needed help and he needed it fast. Whoever had done this to him must've been human because it didn't seem that Ric's ring was aiding in the healing process.

Quickly, Elena ran back into her room grabbed her cell phone off her desk and a towel off the back of her door. She ran back to Alaric's side and put as much pressure as she could manage over the wound and used the other hand to call Caroline.

Caroline answered on the first ring without even saying hello, "Elena, this is going to have to wait."

"Caroline, I need you to come over here right now!" Elena replied effectively cutting Caroline off with the tone of her voice. "Ric is hurt badly and I don't think he will even make it to the hospital. I need you to get over here as quickly as possible and give him some blood."

At that moment a loud crash sounded on Caroline's end that had Caroline yelling into the phone, "Elena you're going to have to call Stefan and Damon. Abby doesn't want to turn but she's having a hard time not attacking Bonnie to feed from her and, of course, Bonnie won't leave so I have to be here to make sure everyone stays in one piece. Call me later. Bye!" And with that Caroline had hung up.

Damon was the first person Elena thought about calling but she knew that Caroline was closer because she was in town. So, going with her first instinct, Elena called Damon next.

Damon's phone rang several times until a sleepy and sultry voice answered, "Damon's phone. I'm sorry but he's a little tied up at the moment."

Sickened by what she just heard Elena had to force herself not to hang up. Ric needed Damon's help and she was going to make sure he got it. Taking a steadying breath, Elena spoke loudly into the phone since she was sure that Damon would be close enough to hear, and said, "Well, tell Damon to untie himself and get his ass over to my house right now because Ric has been shot!" Then Elena threw her phone to the ground and turned her attention back to Ric.

"You're going to be ok, Ric. Damon will be here any minute." Elena stayed close to Ric, keeping pressure on his wound and reminding him of all the reasons that he had to hang on until Damon got there. He was all the family she had left.

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><p>As soon as Damon heard Elena screaming into the phone that Alaric had been shot he was up and dressed before last night's entertainment could even hang up the phone. He only remembered to stop and say something to her when he heard her put his phone on the table. Quickly, he walked over to her, reached to pick up his phone and said, "Thanks for last night but I have to go now. You can see yourself out."<p>

He was gone so quickly that he almost didn't hear the leggy blonde yell out, "Ok. Call me!"

Damon knew he didn't have her number and had no desire to ask. He slammed the door on her without even commenting.

Elena knew the moment Damon had arrived when she heard the front door open quickly. Damon was at the top of the steps biting into his own flesh and getting Ric to swallow his blood before she could even blink. She was so thankful that he spared no time in getting to her house to help Ric. She shouldn't have been so surprised. Damon and Ric had an interesting relationship. They were always oddly willing to help the other out no matter what the circumstance or how much danger they faced.

"There you go, buddy. Just pretend it's a nice breakfast Bloody Mary guaranteed to heal all your problems." Damon joked as he tried to get Ric to drink his blood but Elena knew that he was secretly scared to death that he wouldn't be able to heal his friend.

After Damon decided that Ric had ingested enough blood he turned to Elena, "what the hell happened to him?"

"I have no idea. I found him like this at the top of the steps about five minutes before I called you. I tried to get Caroline to come over but she's busy dealing with Bonnie and her mom so she couldn't make it," Elena told him.

Damon shook his head and then stood up, picked up Ric and took him into his bedroom. "That's so typical of you, Elena."

At first Elena ignored his comment and concentrated on making sure Ric was as comfortable as possible and when she was satisfied she turned to Damon and said, "what is that supposed to mean, Damon."

"It means," he started irately. "That all of a sudden you've decided that I am the last person on your In Case of an Emergency List. Ric is pretty much the only friend I have in town. You didn't think I would want to know that he was hurt and needed help. Christ Elena, I know I'm not your favorite person right now, since I slept with your arch enemy and made your BFF's mommy into a big bad vampire, but when it comes to the people I care about you better remember to call me first!"

Elena was completely taken back by Damon's sudden outburst and for a moment she had to fight back the feeling to cry and apologize for however she had hurt him but her anger quickly erupted when she saw the accusing look on Damon's face and before she knew it she was yelling right back at him. "First of all, Damon, the reason I called Caroline first was because she is just a few block's over at Bonnie's house so I thought she could get here faster. And, secondly, I had every intention on calling you but my main concern was making sure I kept Ric alive. I don't know what is happening here but you have no right to be angry at me!"

Damon started to answer back but just then Alaric let out a load groan. After another second, he opened his eyes and looked over at the fighting duo, "Jesus, you two can't even let a man die in peace. Don't you ever stop fighting with each other?"

Elena was instantly at Ric's side and asking him what happened.

"Well, as much as this pains me to say, looks like Damon was right. Meredith is a psycho doctor. I really do have that much bad luck with women, it seems."

Damon walked over to the side of the bed to question Ric about his little announcement. "So, you're saying she shot you and then what? Dropped you off on your front steps?"

Alaric half laughed, half groaned. "Pretty much!" He waited a second and tried to get himself in a more comfortable position before continuing. "Last night, I found all these files on the victims that have been getting stabbed along with a very large and bloody knife in Meredith's apartment. Then, before I knew it, Meredith was standing there pointing a gun at me and pulling the trigger. I think I may have blacked out after that but next thing I know she's trying to drag me out to the car. She got me in the front seat, said that my injury wasn't serious but I was losing a lot of blood, dropped me off at home and told me to get one of my vampire friends to help me out before I bled to death."

"And where is she now?" Damon asked.

Alaric groaned as a flash of pain shot through his body when he tried to move but he eventually caught his breath and replied. "I have no idea. She basically pushed me out of the car door in front of the house and sped off. I think I remember seeing some bags in the back of her car. Maybe she took off. I don't know and I don't want to think about it anymore." With a loud groan Alaric sat up and threw his legs over the side of the bed. "I'm going to get a shower. Damon, why don't you call Sheriff Forbes and see if she can come up with anything?"

Left standing in Alaric's room by herself Elena decided to make herself busy and change the linens on Alaric's bed so he had something clean to sleep on when he got out of the shower. By the time she had finished up Damon came back in the room with and update.

"Liz said that she is going to send some units out to Meredith's apartment and over to the hospital but we both agree that Meredith is probably long gone by this point. She's going to call me back when she has more information."

Elena silently nodded and watched as Damon turned to exit the room. Quickly she shouted out, "Thank you, Damon. I don't think he would have made it much longer without your help."

"Sure, Elena," Damon replied sarcastically as he made his way out of the room and down the stairs.

Just as Damon had left Alaric returned from the shower and saw Damon heading downstairs. "What's his problem today?"

"I have no idea but I think it has something to do with me" Elena replied quietly.

As Ric got settled into bed she reached over and handed him a bottle of pain killers and a glass of water. "Will you be ok here? I'm going to see if he'll talk to me."

Alaric nodded. "Absolutely, I'm just going to pass out here for the next 48 hours or so. No need to worry about me."

Elena leaned over and placed a small kiss on Ric's cheek. "I'm glad you're ok," she whispered as she walked out of the room.

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><p>Damon stood in the kitchen raiding Ric's stash of Whiskey and tried to calm himself down. They had come really close to losing Ric tonight and that was completely unfathomable. Sure, he had killed Ric several times but it was usually just to make a point. As long as Ric was wearing his ring he could never die at his hands so he viewed it more of a game than anything. Although, he had not played that hand in a while because Ric was not happy with him the last time he pulled that trick. Ric was a begrudging friend to him and since he didn't have many names in the friend column he would do anything to make sure Ric stayed on his good side.<p>

Damon heard Elena leave Ric's room and hesitate at the top of the steps before heading down and making her way into the kitchen. He was just finishing off his second glass of Whiskey when she walked into the room. "How is he?" He asked.

"Ok, I guess. He said he just wants to sleep for a while."

Damon simply nodded and refilled his glass.

An awkward silence fell upon the room before she finally spoke. "What's going on, Damon?"

"You're going to have to be more specific, Elena, because at the moment there are several crazy things going on," he replied sarcastically.

"With us, Damon? What is going on between us? Because things are definitely not right," she practically yelled out in frustration.

Damon drained his glass before he turned on the sarcastic smile that he usually reserved for his enemies, "Us, Elena? There is no us. There is just you and just me. And nothing more."

Elena just stood motionless as he left the room Chilled to the bone from the iciness in Damon's tone. A tone that she had heard him use only on people that meant absolutely nothing to him. Questioning as to whether she had lost him forever practically brought her to her knees.

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><p><em>So, there is Chapter 2. I'm not sure if Meredith dropping Ric off at home is far-fetched but before she went all "Crazy Nanny Carrie" on him I felt like she did care about him a little so I decided that she was a compassionate killer.<em>

_Also, thank you to everyone that reviewed, favorited, and alerted this story. I appreciate it! :)_


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